31 weeks pregnant

What’s happening in week 31

Your’s big day is coming soon. Now you are waiting for your maternity leave as it is not too far off now so start counting the weeks left at work now.

Many pregnant women apply for leave until they are around 34-36 weeks pregnant so that they get the paid leave but you can get maternity leave a little earlier as per your wish. Talk with your Human Resource Management department regarding options in taking earlier leave. Also think realistic about the financial cost vs. the physical cost to you of staying for longer.

At this stage mother’s may be feeling relax a little bit, as they know that if they went into premature labor, the chances of survival of your new-born are very good. If you’ve had a history of pre-term baby before, this will undoubtedly cause you to feel concerned and anxious it may happen again.

At a glance

Baby is big now and quickly approaching to his birth length, at week 31 baby Weighs three-plus pounds and measuring about 16 inches long.

Big development this week is baby can process information and pick up signals from all 5 senses.

Your baby is a drowsy one, putting in longer stretches of snooze time, specifically REM sleep.

Your baby’s brain connections are developing at a rapid pace, which is a good thing since he has to make trillions of them.

In this week baby can easily turn his head from side to side.

Your baby at week 31

In this week baby is Weighing about three-plus pounds and measuring about 16 inches long, and from now baby is quickly approaching to his birth length. His/her arms, legs and body are now align in proportion with his/her head and organs are continuing to develop including the urinary bladder which will now be passing water through it. Baby’s bone marrow is now doing the all important job of producing red blood cells, up until this point their liver had performed this job.

Baby’s movements are much stronger keep an eye on baby’s kicks as many doctors advised to count ten kicks in a day at least. He/she is able to know when it is light and dark but still won’t necessarily keep to a day or night-time sleeping. With only a few weeks to go you have probably started to notice your baby has now settled in to a regular pattern of movement. At this stage baby’s movement is very important so if you notice any change in your baby’s movements call your midwife.

You at 31 weeks pregnant

Sex and orgasm during pregnancy can have an interesting effect on babies in the mother’s womb, as you may have noticed. Some babies are very quiet and calm after their parents have sex while others become frisky themselves.

Around 75% mothers can experience skin discoloration like brown patches of pigmentation appearing specially around the cheeks, and neck or even on forehead. This pigmentation is called ‘melasma’, ‘chloasma’ or hyper-pigmentation. You can say any name but in general it is caused when body makes extra melanin, during pregnancy which is the tanning hormone that your body produces to protect your skin from sun ultraviolet (UV) rays. It’s really important to wear a sunscreen of SPF 20 or more. Don’t forget to Wear scarf, veil a hat it can also protect your skin from the sun.

Braxton Hicks contractions which are practicing contractions in preparation for labor.

If you are suffering from nausea throughout your pregnancy, now it’s a time you may find some relief in your third trimester.

At this stage of pregnancy stretch marks could be appearing on your tummy because it is a fun of motherhood . If you’ve avoided them until now but now its come as an unwelcome friend. You can really do nothing to stop them forming. At start they are pink and red in color and very visible, within a year or less they will fade to white and not be nearly as noticeable.

As you gaining a lot of weight in last trimester of pregnancy your tummy is probably large enough that can’t easily seen your legs when you’re standing anymore. So 40% of expectant moms are develop varicose veins. These swollen blood vessels can either develop or worsen when you’re expecting, though they are rarely cause for concern.

At this stage blinding headache like a migraine hits, alleviate pain by lying down in a quiet, dark room with a cold compress on your neck or forehead. It’s also safe to take paracetamol tablet occasionally during pregnancy if nothing else will stop the pain.

Piles are very common as the veins of the rectum have begun to bulge and pop out which is very painful so reduce discomfort and irritation by using gentle wipes or warm water on soft toilet paper after bowel movements and don’t avoid to drink lots of fluids so your stool isn’t hard.

Now you are feeling that your breasts could be increasingly heavy and denser as before. Dilated veins are becoming very obvious and visible and the color of nipples will continue to darken. All of these changes are necessary to prepare your breasts to produce milk for your new-born.

One of the most common (must say annoying) pregnancy ailments these days are you may feel as flamethrower in your chest like acidity and indigestion.

Uterus expands, it puts pressure on the rectum, which can weaken muscle control and lead to uncontrollable passing of gas. Drink plenty of water to avoid constipation, which worsen the condition.